Hydro Junkie

And while I agree with much of what Jester just said, I do have to look at the subject with some trepidation. As a boater, I see many "new boaters" that want a RTF boat because it's plug and play-there is no commitment of time and minimal amounts of cash. I, on the other hand, want a quality boat that's not just slapped together and that can survive a hit if necessary. My present boat, being a fiberglass 1/8 scale hydroplane, was laid up 14 years ago and has taken it's share of crashes, collisions and such. It's only survived because the guy that did the lay up used quality materials and took the time to do it right. The guy that assembled it was the same way, took the time to make sure it was done properly and laminated plywood to areas of the hull to strengthen it as well as make the boat run better. So, how does this relate to aircraft? You look at the people that show up at the flightline and what they are flying. Some have home built planes that have been lovingly maintained and built, some being many years old. The rest have cookie cutter ARFs and foamies. Which group is going to stay around and who will drop out when the fascination wears off or their plane crashes? If all you invest is a little cash and put no real time into your aircraft, other than assembling the prefabricated parts, what motivates you to stay in the hobby if something goes wrong? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If, on the other hand, you have taken the time to build something, the odds of you staying in the hobby and being a bit more careful with your work of art will have grown exponentially to the time and costs needed to build your plane.

jtotten

If you will be joining a club that has a beginners instruction program, the instructors recommendation is probably your best choice. The will be familiar with the initial setup and any quirks, and can get you off to a good start. I also recommend against a scratch built as a first plane - too long to get ready to fly, and too much emotional investment. If you are not joining a club, try to find a local hobby shop that can demonstrate a simulator - one of those might be a good investment.

Pete1burn

I learned on an Avistar a long time ago. Had an OS .46 engine and an analog radio. (This was before 2.4ghz.) It was a solid plane, a pleasure to build and a dream to fly. I even bought another one to build better than the first using pinned hinges and reinforcing some parts with tristock, and glassing the wings.

In reality, any high wing trainer will help. I agree with most of the others. Get a quality balsa kit, not foam. Fly the hell out of it and if you crash, cut the covering off and fix it. The Avistar taught me more about repairing and flying RC planes than I thought possible.

I went from it to a Thunder Tiger Spirit 3D about 4 months later and never looked back.

jester_s1

What will keep them in the hobby when things go wrong? The hobby will keep them in the hobby. The experience of flying, the friendships with other RC pilots, and the enjoyment of having the planes and taking them out to fly will keep people in the hobby. Yeah, I guess there are guys who drop out after their first crash who might have stuck around had they built their planes and had more emotional investment in them, but given the number of 1/2 built trainers I see there are also significant numbers of people who get bogged down in the startup efforts and never actually fly at all. The problem with both is not the kind of plane they started with, but rather the level of commitment they started out with.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

It appears no one has mentioned a three channel glider. I started my learning process using such a glider launched with a device called a "high start". Now with the advent of electric power plants you can skip the "high start". Do a goggle search for a "League of Silent Flight" organization located near you.

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

The minibipe is a good flier, you should have a lot of fun with it. Castle Creations, O.S., and Great Planes all make good electronic speed controllers. Good luck and good shopping!

Neverlost1

My Feedback: (1)

My first suggestion is to join the AMA and join a local club - best bang for the buck. With proper instruction, you will actually go home after flying with your airplane in 1 piece. You'll also make some great friends. If you go it alone - you will crash.
My second suggestion is to get a flight simulator - such as Realflight - practice makes almost perfect.

Buy a "trainer" type airplane - high wing - designed to be stable. The bigger the better (easier to see). Go to a site like Tower Hobbies and look for "trainers". You have 3 choices - ready to fly (everything ready to go with minimal assembly and radio usually included - usually cheap components), Almost Ready to Fly (ARF) - More assembly required, and the engine/motor/radio are not included, and then KIT - total assembly required - glue it all together and cover it - requires some building skills and a lot of building equipment. My personal choice is to go with ARF and your choice of engine & radio. Whatever you decide, you will also need ground support equipment (battery chargers, engine spinner uppers, etc).

There are also some great deals right here for used equipment.

When I started, I was looking at a kit and the salesman told me it was a 30-30 kit - 30 days to build and 30 seconds to destroy - I went to option 2, Foam ARF - 3 days to assemble and 30 seconds to destroy. I went it alone and went through 3 airplanes before I could fly well enough to go home in one piece.

You will receive 600 different recommendations from 600 different people - keep it simple

Quorneng

Hmmm
If bwells14 reads all this I suspect he might regret he even asked!

SeaJay

My Feedback: (6)

RV7Garage,

You are probably right about ARF first, kit second, I was always pretty nervous when I was learning to fly, as I knew how long it took me to build that plane!!

Craig!

Frank Ts Stuff

My Feedback: (130)

I am training my little girl to fly on a E-flite Apprentice 15e from Horizon Hobby. Could not give a higher recommendation than to buy this plane. It is virtually crash proof with the SAFE technology yet is fully aerobatic. Parts are cheap and readily availabe....

-Sean